Security researchers are speculating that the hacker obtained the scandalous photos from iCloud accounts of the celebrities. For instance, the Kate Upton photos appeared to be taken from her boyfriend's iPhone. An EXIF examination of the photo even revealed the Google Maps location of where the photo was taken.

It didn't help when a Python script was posted on GitHub a couple of days ago. This script, called iBrute, can reportedly send brute-force attacks to iCloud accounts, eventually allowing the hacker to get the right password.

One privacy researcher, Christopher Soghoian, commented that if the accounts were indeed brute forced, Apple could have prevented it by rate-limiting the number of log-ins. Another researcher, FireEye's Darien Kindlund, said that it could be thwarted by enabling the two-factor authentication on the iCloud accounts.

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Gene Ryan BrionesGene Ryan Briones (Google+) is a technology journalist with a wide experience in writing about the latest trends in the technology industry, ranging from mobile technology, gadgets and robots, as well as computer hardware and software.

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